Breaking The Darkness
by paris1601
Summary: Sequel to Those Beautiful Green Eyes. Konzen tries to bring Goku to Heaven. Shonen ai. 58, 39
1. Prologue

_I've decided to put **Crossroads** on hold for a while. This will be the sequel to **Those Beautiful Green Eyes, **but since I will need to shift between two groups of characters, this one will be written in third person. Hope you all enjoy._

_**Disclaimer**: Saiyuki is not mine. The story is fictional and all similarities to people and events in real life are coincidences._

**Breaking the Darkness**

_**Prologue**_

Crack.

There it was again! This time, it was louder and more ominous. Every time he heard that sound, he knew he was literally millimeters away from losing himself. His breathing was already ragged. He had been running for days, now. From what and for what reason, he didn't really know. His throat was rough and dry from lack of water and his legs burned from all the strain he had forced on them, but there was one singular goal in his mind.

He had to get away.

Away...

He slowed for a moment as his train of thought brought back memories he did not like remembering, but kept close at hand so he would never forget. _I killed them… I killed my friends. I killed Gyumaoh and Ririn, then I killed Sanzo…_

His hand strayed to the jade bauble dangling from his ear.

_...And then I killed Hakkai…_

It, and its twin on his other ear, was a meager green light in the darkness that surrounded him in the desolate desert. They were the limiters Hakkai had given him. 1 But Hakkai was not powerful enough. Rather, the human in Hakkai was no longer powerful enough to contain Goku's powers. Youki could not effectively contain youki the same way yin could not be overcome by yin. It was a system of check and balance, equilibrium was only found by equal amounts of opposing forces harmonizing. Fire and water, light and dark, yin and yang... 2

... Dark was fast overcoming him.

There was no moon and all the stars were hiding behind the dark clouds. It was fitting that he should lose himself that night.

Crack!

_I'm sorry, Hakkai, I broke your limiters again. Gojyo, I'm sorry for being so weak. And Sanzo…_

The shrill scream of the shattering jade was deafening to the young man's ears. His golden eyes went wild with panic.

_Not yet! Not yet!_

He felt the strain on his scalp and cuticles as his hair and nails began to grow at unimaginable rates. Pain wracked his entire body as his life force, his ki, was unleashed, threatening to break free of his thin frame.

_No more! I can't become that monster again!_

He fought and fought hard though he knew the fight would not last long. It never did. His eternal battle was always lost in a few moments of transformation into the Seiten Taisen. And as he felt himself slip away, he shouted to the uncaring night sky his death cry:

"_**SANZO!"**_

The brown-haired man pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and looked around the room, somewhat startled. His raven-haired companion did not miss this sudden change of mood. It was quite rare that something jerked his dear friend away from a book like that.

"What's up, Ten?"

Tenpou Gensui's delicate brow knitted. "Didn't you hear that, Taisho?"

Kenren Taisho frowned at the use of his title instead of a more affectionate moniker or even a casual 'Kenren'. "It's probably just rats. This inn you chose isn't exactly the most sanitary."

"Konzen?" the marshal glanced at the blonde who had taken a liking to the window. It was raining hard outside that night and while rain had always bothered the reincarnation Genjo Sanzo, he had to wonder how such a downpour affected the deity.

Konzen's violet eyes stared at the nothingness beyond the glass. "I heard it. Someone calling out to me."

**_Author's Notes:_**

_Here we go! A few points that need to be clarified, especially if you didn't read my other fic._

_1. In **Those Beautiful Green Eyes**, Hakkai died while giving Goku his limiters, which came in the form of jade earrings. Ah, but the other fic isn't exactly required reading for you to understand the rest of this story._

_2. That's just my theory as to why only Sanzo and Kanzeon Bosatsu, despite Hakkai and Gojyo's considerable strength, can actually produce a limiter that can keep the Seiten Taisen at bay. I just thought chalking things up to divine power was less fun._

_Finals' week ends next Tuesday so I should have a lot more time to write. Who knew I'd miss this so much? Reviews will always be much appreciated._

_Thanks for reading!_

_- paris_


	2. Chapter One

_As always, author's notes at the end. Please excuse me if the cast is out of character._

_**Disclaimer**: Saiyuki is not mine. The story is fictional and all similarities to people and events in real life are coincidences._

Hidden by the darkness was a man in white lab coat. In one hand he held a transparent umbrella decorated with the faces of so many infuriatingly happy pink bunnies, in the other hand was a pair of large binoculars specially equipped with IR sensors which enabled him to see activity despite the pitch black of the moonless desert. With a cool analytical eye he watched a young brunette crumple into a pained heap in the dark night in the middle of the rain.

He wore a condescending smile on his face.

He chuckled softly as he put the binoculars down, letting it hang by the strap around his neck, then turned to the stuffed rabbit he carried on his back with a baby carrier. "It appears we came just in time."

Somehow, the rabbit looked like it smiled back.

**Breaking the Darkness**

_**Chapter One**_

"So you're saying that you heard Goku calling out for Konzen?" Kenren Taisho brushed away the short water-logged bangs that fell on his forehead. He squinted, trying to use the pale green glow provided by the bespectacled marshal's ki to see through the inky black ahead of them.

"Not quite," Tenpou Gensui looked ahead at the receding white figure that was his longtime friend Konzen Douji. "I just heard someone shouting. Somehow, Konzen thinks he heard Goku calling him." He glanced at the ball of ki on his hand that was providing them with light.

It flickered uncertainly like candlelight in the face of strong winds.

Kenren noticed this. "Are you sure you can handle this? You just revived. Your body hasn't fully recovered from..." he trailed off when the glow intensified.

Tenpou flashed his general a smile, "I'm fine, Taisho." He turned to the dark and empty horizon as his general sighed in frustration. He narrowed his eyes slightly, peering through his wet glasses, when he realized that Konzen was nowhere in sight. A strong cold wind coming from the general direction Konzen had run to blew over the pair. "Did you feel that?"

It was a familiar feeling. The sudden unleashing of a great amount of ki was not easy to miss. Kenren stopped feeling sorry for himself and temporarily set aside his anxiety for the marshal. "Goku."

The green-eyed god nodded. "Let's go."

"_**Goku!"**_

He felt it.

He felt the surge of ki.

It was like a signature or a fingerprint. That power could only have come from Goku and no one else. Piercing violet eyes scanned the horizon. He knew his ward was close.

"Goku!" he called out.

Visual evidence wasn't all too reliable, though. It was too dark and all he could see was the black sky and the even blacker shadows of mountains and rock formations. His eyes were not experienced enough to see through the rain and gloom. He had a desk job in Heaven, for crying out loud!

_Damn it, Tenpou, where the hell are you?_

He turned to where he thought he came from and waited for the green light that was his friend's ki. He felt a bit guilty for demanding so much from the marshal despite the fact that the pretty brunette had just awakened from a lifetime-long sleep. It really wasn't true that a long period of sleep would not do the deities harm. Lack of food and activity severely weakened the body. The longer the sleep, the greater the recovery time required and out of all of them. Tenpou had been asleep the longest.

But, right now, finding Goku was more important. Tenpou would survive; Kenren would make sure of it. Letting Goku run amuck, unsupervised was just not an option. Goku was a disaster waiting to happen both to the world and to himself if left unchecked.

Konzen kept making excuses in his head why he wanted to find Goku so badly.

He couldn't admit to himself that he just had an ominous feeling.

Why should he sense if the monkey was in danger? He did not take care of the simpleton child long enough to become accustomed to him, let alone to be bonded to him so strongly that their fates and consciousnesses were inseparable.

It made no sense that he was worried sick.

"Konzen," Tenpou announced his presence as both he and Kenren came up from behind Konzen.

The blonde god glared at the West Army officers. "What took you so long?"

"You ungrateful bastard..." Kenren began an angry retort, wanting to tell off the bureaucrat for not giving a rat's ass what happened to their mutual friend, but he was immediately cut off by the more diplomatic Tenpou.

"Did you find him?"

"No," Konzen stared resolutely at the distance, determined to move further into the desert in search of the golden-eyed boy.

"Well, we're not going find him in this ink pot," Kenren grumbled as he watched the light surrounding Tenpou's hand falter again. He, himself, was frustrated with the whole thing. He hated feeling helpless. Konzen was pushing Tenpou to his limits, and at that moment, everything seemed for naught.

He couldn't feel Goku's ki anymore.

The gleam in Konzen's eyes said he didn't want to stop looking, but his pride prevented him from showing any signs of worry or attachment. Practicality dictated that they postpone the search because the trail had run cold. "The stupid monkey can take care of himself for one more night," he reluctantly assented.

"Are you sure?" Tenpou forced his ki out for the second time. He examined Konzen's expression while calculating how much longer he could last. He had never known himself to be so short in stamina and he had never known his friend to be so...concerned. His vision blurred a bit and with his free hand he removed his glasses and shook off the water droplets that had settled there. Kenren took the spectacles from his hand.

"Don't be stubborn," the general snapped as he wiped the wet lenses with his undershirt. He handed them back when they were respectably clean and dry, "We all know you're on your last leg here." He finished in a milder tone, "We need to find Goku, but we don't want to lose you in the process, so don't push yourself too hard."

Konzen was silent. _Damn it, you stupid monkey..._

_...**Where are you?**_

_It's so dark..._

The smell of alcohol, embalming fluid, and metal stung his nose. Hints of other chemicals mixed with the cocktail of smells that assaulted his already far too sensitive senses. There was a chorus of quiet humming, which signified the presence of numerous machines.

Nothing felt alive.

_Sanzo, I don't like it here._

There was a soft whooshing sound and then footsteps. He wanted to open his eyes, but the lids were heavy and for some reason he couldn't find the strength to lift them. "I thought I'd have more trouble with you."

_I know that voice. I've heard it somewhere before._

A gentle hand, almost caressing, lifted his chin up. "It took more tranquilizer darts than I expected to subdue you. I thought you'd die and all my work would go to waste."

There was a calm heartbeat and soft breathing. This person smelled alive, but didn't feel that way.

"Born from rock," a soft chuckle. Breath that smelled like toothpaste and cigarettes tickled his nose. "All your vitals are alright. I'm beginning to believe the rumors."

He decided he didn't like this person.

The hand was gone. Footsteps walked away from him.

"Wake up soon, Son Goku."

There was that strange whoosh again and then he was alone. He felt no life around him, and yet somehow he felt better.

_**Author's Notes**_

_Thanks for reading up to this point! I didn't expect to see so many reviews so early in the fic. It warms my heart and is very flattering._

_tigermink, I'm glad you enjoyed my first fic. I hope this will be enjoyable as well. People wanted to know what happened to Goku, so I couldn't help but write the sequel. Thanks._

_narrizan-san, thank you for your constant support. I hope I don't disappoint you. I will do my best to make this one a good read._

_Crimson1, I am happy you find this interesting. I hope to keep you interested until the end. Thanks._

_iceblitz, Thank you for the review this time around. I don't mind that you didn't review the other one. I am just glad you're happy that this is up._

_ChoHakkai941, I hope you didn't wait too long. Thank you, I was a bit worried that it was too short, but then again, beginnings often are. My beginnings, anyway._

_Koto Juri, I certainly hope so. Thank you._

_likeable not14, I will finish this story, that's a promise. Finals are almost over and though progress during the school year is often slow, I will do my best to update as often as I can. Thanks for your concern._

_Attiqah Gensui, Oh, sorry. That will be included here, I promise. Finals are short for final exams. They're the comprehensive exams taken at the end of the term to check if you learned anything. Haha! I don't believe I did, so I'll be winging it!_

_I wonder if it's clear what happened in this chapter. Hope no one is finding the whole no scene dividers thing confusing. I really should learn how to use those..._

_Maybe next time..._

_All the best to everyone!_

_Sincerely,_

_paris_


	3. Chapter Two

_**Disclaimer**: Saiyuki is not mine. The story is fictional and all similarities to people and events in real life are coincidences._

**Breaking the Darkness**

_**Chapter Two**_

"How are you feeling?"

A green eye cracked open and peered at the tall brunette standing by the door. "I'm okay, Taisho, thank you for asking." He had said so thirty-two times that night and his general still wouldn't leave him alone. And while Kenren could be persistent about certain things, this was really ridiculous. He pushed himself up off the bed and reached for his glasses. "Why don't you come in?"

"Nah," the reply was flippant. "I really don't want to disturb you, Tenpou."

Well now, that was a reply rather unusual for the capricious soldier. "Isn't it a bit too late for that now?" he retorted mildly, a smile on his face. He patted the empty space on the bed next to him. "Since I'm already awake, Taisho, why don't you keep me company?"

Kenren entered the marshal's room with a shrug and a seemingly uncaring, "Sure. Whatever." He dragged a chair over to the bedside and unceremoniously dropped himself into it. Tenpou watched him quietly, with a fond smile on his face. Even when Kenren's blue gaze met his, he didn't turn away. "What?" the general demanded, trying hard to hide his being uncharacteristically self conscious.

A soft chuckle escaped the marshal's lips, a sign that his subordinate's discomfort was not missed. Then, a well-shaped eyebrow rose inquisitively, "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" There was a pause and Tenpou knew it was not because Kenren did not understand, rather because Kenren knew all too well what he meant. Seeing he'd get no reply, Tenpou sighed, too exhausted from their activities in the desert that night to hide his consternation. "You know, Tai..."

"Don't call me that!" Kenren suddenly burst out, cutting Tenpou short. He had shot up from his seat and was now towering over his superior officer on the bed. The angry flash barely hid the hurt in his eyes. "Stop calling me 'taisho'! Is that all I am to you?"

Tenpou kept his smile, but his impenetrable mask now had a dent that only Kenren could detect. "I hardly think that regarding you as a general is derogatory," he said innocently. Oh, he knew all too well what his dear friend was getting at, it was just a matter he didn't want to discuss. If it were any other man with him that night, he could easily talk in circles until they were so way off topic that the original essence of the conversation would be forgotten until another day. Unfortunately for Tenpou, this was Kenren he was dealing with. Though brash and impetuous, the handsome god was one of the few great thinkers in Heaven and he could easily match Tenpou's mental maneuverings...

...Especially now that they were so close. Suddenly, the marshal became very aware of the fact that he was shirtless.

"I'm not talking about rank," the said handsome god snapped. Why did Tenpou insist on playing this stupid game? They both knew that there was no way for Tenpou to revert the discussion unless Kenren permitted it. But then, like him, the marshal was stubborn and accustomed to getting his way. Army officials, especially those from Heaven, tend to be like that. "And I know you know what the hell I'm talking about!"

Tenpou silently threw back his blanket and stood up from his bed in an almost continuous fluid motion. He was not one to show weakness. This being Kenren, Tenpou had to switch to Plan B. Get on the general's nerves enough to make him either leave or punch the marshal in the face after which Tenpou could beat the hell out of him. Either way, the discussion would be avoided. He calmly looked his general in the face, his smile so sweet it was menacing. "And what would that be, Kenren Taisho?" The last two words were spoken in a cold and authoritative tone.

This irked the Western Army general to no end, "Why are you being such a prick? Am I just another random fuck for you?"

A small twitch of his mouth changed his smile to something more sardonic and condescending, but his tone remained even, "There is nothing random about the people I fuck." He put their faces so close that it would only take a small movement to make their lips meet. "Though I believe you're no authority on the matter seeing as we've never..." he trailed off, letting unspoken words remain unspoken.

Kenren was shaking, and it had nothing to do with Tenpou's cool minty fresh breath. He clenched his fists trying to use up the furious energy built up inside him. His arm muscles were already contracting and flexing in anticipation of an instinctive action. On a normal day, Kenren would have punched the daylights out of his commander, but this was Tenpou. Having reminded himself of that fact, all the tension fled from him and he suddenly felt weak. He gave Tenpou one final glare, "Fine. Do what you like."

Tenpou watched the raven-haired haired god as he marched out of the room.

When he was once again alone, he made his way to the window. It was still raining outside, and while memories of Hakkai were just a footnote in his centuries of godly life, it still made him a bit sad. He wanted to smoke, but his distaste for cigarettes during his mortal life—that was, by the way, brought about by the human woman named Kanan—stopped him from doing so.

He laughed at himself. "Well, Hakkai, you sure messed me up, didn't you?"

And it wasn't just about the rain. Even though Hakkai's life was similar to an ascetic's when compared to Tenpou's the god was actually a lot more inhibited than the human. Feelings about Gojyo, which Tenpou would never admit to having towards Kenren, were so blatantly clear to Hakkai. What he had, for so many years, contained in the farthest corner of his mind as the best strategist in Heaven were unraveling in front of him right now because of a life he dreamed he lived.

But Hakkai wasn't a dream. He had actually seen the mortal man buried. That meant Hakkai's feelings for Gojyo weren't a dream either...

...And neither were his feelings for Kenren.

The marshal pushed open the window and closed his eyes, relishing the spray of the rain on his skin.

"_**Well then, this is home, right?"**_

Goujun nodded at him. There was no humor in the dragon lord's red eyes, but there seemed to be a hint of what could only be called satisfaction. "I see that idiot of a general of yours managed to bring you back," his voice remained as formal as ever despite his words.

"It's nice to see you, too, Goujun-sama," Tenpou smiled his usual smile. He appeared to be as guileless as always. "And in Kenren Taisho's defense, I would say that he does his job quite effectively even though he has poor conduct."

"Are you defending your subordinate, Tenpou Gensui?" Goujun was apparently amused.

"I believe I said I was."

Any other two men would laugh at the exchange, but these weren't any other two men. These were the highest ranking officers of the Western Army and the most self-controlled personalities in Heaven. They remained content staring at each other with friendly regard.

The Dragon King was first to break eye contact as he moved closer to the marshal. He produced a scroll and handed it to the other man. "This is for you."

"Oh? A mission so soon after my return?" a once in a lifetime joke between friends who would never admit their relationship as such. Tenpou took the scroll and broke the seal.

"Konzen Douji requested it."

"I see." An understanding nod, "This is about him."

"Yes," Goujun responded knowing full and well who Tenpou was speaking of. The Itan child's name was still taboo in Heaven. Any heretic's name, for that matter, was taboo in Heaven. It was something whispered about in the night, but never uttered aloud in broad daylight.

An inquisitive verdant gaze landed on an imperial red one. "But this isn't all, is it?"

"No," Goujun replied.

"_**Heaven is still a far too dangerous place."**_

_I can't risk it, taisho, no matter how much I want you with me. _The logic of the whole matter was so simple to Tenpou that it hurt.

He closed the window and headed back to the bed.

There would be no more interruptions tonight.

Kenren wasn't coming back.

Tenpou sighed. Suddenly...

**_...It was so cold._**

Every moment he spent locked up inside his own body, was another battle lost in his war to maintain his consciousness as the boy he remembered to be called Goku. He mentally curled himself up into a ball. The inside of his mind was dark and filled only with blood and survival instinct.

He had to get out.

He had to regain himself or he would completely disappear.

"Sanzo, where are you?" he whimpered.

White hot pain jolted him out of his thoughts and suddenly he was back in the lab, screaming. But his cries didn't get very far as it came out muffled through the oxygen mask he was wearing. He struggled, trying to free himself of whatever was causing him pain, but he could not find leverage. He felt weightless.

He was helpless.

His eyes widened and his pupils dilated as a strong electrical current coursed through his body. He saw his hair floating about him before the liquid he had just realized he was immersed in stung his eyes. No wonder he couldn't hear anything.

Outside the tank containing the young brunette stood another brown-haired man, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, grinning widely at no one in particular. "What's the reading?"

"This is cruel, Dr. Ni," the curly haired assistant scolded her companion.

"Then why are you still with me?" Ni Jen Yi retorted. "You're free to leave."

She didn't answer. She simply clenched her teeth and stared daggers into the panel she was sitting in front of. Yes, why was she still there?

"Raise the voltage by another hundred volts," Ni ordered her, when he saw that she was once again defeated.

With a heavy heart and a confused mind, she did as she was told.

She couldn't hear anything, but as she turned on the current, she saw the boy's mouth open. In her mind, she heard it.

_**Screams rang out into the night.**_

"Stop it!"

Konzen woke up panting heavily. In the darkness ahead of him, he could picture Goku's face. The boy's pleas for Sanzo to help him and make whatever was causing him pain stop reverberated in Konzen's head. He massaged his temples with his right hand as he pushed himself up with his left. He should have been irritated that the blanket clung to his sweat soaked skin, but at that moment, he was too disturbed by his nightmares to care.

He didn't even notice the other occupant of the room.

"Were you having a good dream?" an all too familiar voice asked him.

He didn't have to look to know who it was. "What are you doing here?"

Kanzeon Bosatsu wagged a finger at her nephew. "Is that any way to talk to you concerned aunt?" She leaned back on her seat. "I see you've had no luck finding the heretic child."

"Goku," Konzen grunted without thinking.

A short laugh. "Ah, yes, you named him," the Goddess of Mercy gave her nephew an amused grin. "You know, you tend to get attached to the things you name. People, too."

Not much of a diplomat, the golden-haired god spoke impatiently, "Skip the games, old woman. What are you doing here?"

A rare serious expression passed the goddess' face. "You must find Goku."

**_Author's Notes:_**

_Please, someone tell me what Ni's assistant's name is. I can't remember..._

_Okay... this is somewhat Tenpou-centric. Hope no one minds. _

_I'll try to respond to reviews next time. I'm in a bit of a hurry. But thanks to everyone who reviewed and thank you, as well, to everyone who is still reading. I appreciate it._

_I'll try to update faster._

_paris _


	4. Chapter Three

_**Disclaimer**: Saiyuki is not mine. The story is fictional and all similarities to people and events in real life are coincidences._

**Breaking the Darkness**

_**Chapter Three**_

A vein popped out of Konzen's head as he glowered at his aunt. "If you came all the way down here to tell me something I already know..."

"Listen to me, Konzen," it was clear that Kanzeon Bosatsu was not in her usual jovial mood. That fact, on its own, was enough to wash away Konzen's irritation. He was suddenly eager to listen, though he did not show it. "If you're not careful, you could lose Goku forever. You may never get him back no matter how many limiters you put on him."

"What are you talking about?" the blonde reached pushed away his blanket and slid out of the bed. He began craving for a cigarette, but soon realized that he had not brought any with him. He still hated the smell, but he really needed something to do when he was stressed. He settled for sitting down on the bed and giving the farthest corner of the room an icy glare.

"If the Seiten Taisen's power grows too strong, no limiter could keep him at bay," the Goddess of Mercy watched her nephew's reactions carefully. Konzen still seemed hell bent on freezing the poor corner of the room with his eyes. "You might not get the Goku you knew back."

Ah, now there was a reaction.

Violet orbs widened, bewildered, and turned to the Bodhisattva, "How long do we have?" somehow, Konzen kept his voice neutral.

"I don't know," the response from the Enlightened One was surprisingly laced with sadness. "It all depends on Goku—on how long he wants to and can fight off losing himself."

"Che," Konzen grunted and resumed his glaring at the corner of the room. "That stupid monkey is stubborn. He'll last."

"Maybe, but," there was something in Kanzeon Bosatsu's voice that made her nephew look at her. "Do you remember the day you died, Konzen? Do you remember the day Genjo Sanzo died?"

Konzen's brow furrowed. He remembered how his mortal body died, but his god form? Another repressed memory? He couldn't remember. And here, he'd thought he didn't lose any of his memories when he died. He turned to his aunt. When he met her gaze, Konzen felt himself getting lost in the infinite pools of wisdom that were the Goddess of Mercy's eyes.

"_**It's Goku?"**_

"Yes, isn't it ironic?" Li Touten's rang in the still air.

Konzen stared at the Seiten Taisen towering over him. His tried to push himself up, but the arm he used to prop himself up protested painfully as did his chest. He realized he couldn't feel his left leg, either. He stared helplessly up at the sinister golden eyes, then at Li Touten who was standing off to one side. Nataku stood in front of his father in a defensive position. "You coward. Hiding behind a child..."

"That's because I raised my son well, Konzen Douji," the other god replied with a cruel smile. "It looks like you couldn't do the same for your ward. That's not my fault."

"Why you..." Konzen was about to make some spicy remark, but his words were cut off when a strong hand seized him by the neck and pushed him up against a wall. Clawed fingers began squeezing the porcelain neck it held captive, choking its owner slowly.

Nataku began to move forward to save his friend's caretaker, but was frozen in place by his father's command. "You stay right where you are, Nataku."

The fighting god was about to make some form of protest, but his father's will always won out. He felt lost. He ended up just standing there as his father wanted him to.

"Goku..." Konzen managed to choke out. "Stop this..."

**_Violet eyes looked straight into golden ones before closing for what would seem to be the last time._**

_No!_

Goku felt sick. He'd been dreaming about Sanzo and another guy who looked a lot like Sanzo if he gained a little more weight and had longer hair. Not that Sanzo or the other guy was bad looking, but whenever Goku dreamt of them, he dreamt that he was killing them.

_And I was enjoying it..._

He shivered at the callousness of his alter ego. It wasn't right.

He wanted to forget the dreams. He wanted to see Sanzo and get hit by Sanzo's fan so he would know that his friend and caretaker was still alive.

For a moment, he was stunned by a feeling, unfamiliar to the Seiten Taisen.

**_Hot tears stung Goku's eyes._**

"What?" Dr. Hwan brushed back her bangs and pushed up her glasses as she peered into the Seiten Taisen's containment unit. She studied the fluid surrounding the boy's face for a lingering while. Tiny bubbles of light clear liquid floated upward, trying to escape the heavy honey-like matrix that surrounded their object of study. "Where are those coming from?"

Upon closer inspection, she found herself more surprised than when she first saw the strange phenomenon. "Are those..." she stepped back feeling guiltier than ever. "...tears?"

_**He was crying.**_

Kanzeon Bosatsu had never seen her nephew cry. Well, maybe when he was a babe, the newborn Konzen was always causing a ruckus. He was fussy even as a baby. But the proud Konzen Douji, whom the entire Heaven knew and did not necessarily love, didn't cry. He was a jerk who always had a stick so far up his holier-than-thou ass that he couldn't be bothered by something as trivial as complicated emotions. Konzen Douji only had two emotions: bored and annoyed.

So why was he sitting here in this earth inn, tears streaming down his beautiful face?

"It wasn't his fault," the Goddess of Mercy offered. "It wasn't your fault, either. Goku couldn't control himself and neither could you if you were alone."

A white hand covered Konzen's mouth. He wasn't sobbing, but his eyes were red. His tears were silent. He then took a deep breath to steady himself. "What happened next?" Again, the tone was more even than what would be expected from the feelings his face betrayed. "What happened after I died?"

"Goku was charged with your murder," the Bodhisattva replied softly. "Fighting God Nataku was ordered to apprehend him and detain him. Since Goku could not be executed, by the laws of Heaven..."

Konzen nodded, comprehending. "He was locked up for five hundred years in that mountain." There was a contemplative silence before the golden-haired god spoke again. "You were the one to put the diadem on him, weren't you?"

"Yes, I was."

"Which would explain why he didn't remember Heaven during his lifetime with Sanzo," another understanding nod.

The Goddess of Mercy needn't reply to the statement. But when she examined her nephew, he was waiting for an explanation, and so she gave one. "The pain of having to carry out the sentence of his own best friend left Nataku Taishi in the state that he is right now. If I'd placed the diadem on Goku without removing his memories of killing you, what do you think would happen to him?"

"Don't make it look like I'm that important to him!" Konzen said the words so coldly.

"Then, answer me this, Konzen," the aunt challenged her nephew. "How important is the sun to the earth?"

_**Author's Notes:**_

_I'm taking narrizan-san's word for it and am using Dr. Hwan as the assistant's name. I think she's right, anyway._

_tigermink, Wow. Somehow, you're always the first to review a chapter. Thanks! Never really was good with keeping things happy and uncomplicated! I hope you like how things will turn out._

_Koto Juri, thanks. I hope it stays great in your opinion. I'll do my best to keep it up!_

_narrizan, Sorry for the cliffhanger. I do have a tendency to do that, don't I? Well, that's not always a bad thing. Thanks for the review and the name._

_Marron-chan1, I think the reason why there are few gaiden fics is because there is so little reference with regards to gaiden. Hope you liked this chapter!_

_Attiqah Gensui, Sorry if I still haven't revealed Kenren's words to Tenpou. I promise that I will reveal those words. Hey, I'm a science major. Physics, actually. There's going to be a Physics convention in our country later this month and I'm presenting my paper... Not that I'm excited..._

_MikaSamu, Oh, but we all know that for the Saiyuki gang, when it rains, it pours! Thank you for your kind words. I was worried that they were out of character, what with them being all emotional and all that jazz._

_Yamazaki Mukosho, Thanks for the review. I hope you enjoy this fic._

_Crimson1, Well, they had lousy lives as Gojyo and Hakkai, but then, as humans, they're free to live as they please without having to care about the rest of the world. Ni's a fun character. He's so demented that he's fun! But that's just me._

_Thanks to all who have read up to this point and thank you again to all those who reviewed. Will be going to a convention next week. I hope I find a computer there where I can write and upload._

_Take care to everyone,_

_paris_


	5. Chapter Four

_**Chapter Four**_

"Tenpou."

Tenpou looked up from the pot of coffee he was making. It felt strange to him to be preparing breakfast for his companions. He always had servants or soldiers of lower rank serving him. But still, he felt right doing something he, in his lifetime as a god, never did. For a moment, his smile became more genuine, and then he plucked his brain out of the gutter. This was not the right time for reminiscing. Goku needed their help.

As did Konzen.

"Yes, Konzen?" the bespectacled deity began pouring some of his freshly brewed coffee into a mug.

Konzen was staring out of the window. The rain hadn't stopped since the night before, but it had died down to a much lighter shower. The skies were still a dull grey. "The sun hasn't come out yet."

The mug of coffee was offered to the blonde god who absent mindedly accepted. "It's not something I can do anything about," Tenpou stood beside his friend and watched the pitter patter of the raindrops. He knew that Konzen's words were not really a commentary about the weather. He chose his next words carefully. "But rain in the right amounts can do wonders for the earth. It nourishes the soil and helps the earth appreciate the sun even more."

The door on the other side of the room opened to allow in the fully dressed Kenren Taisho. The marshal's and the general's eyes met for a moment. And for that moment, before they were quickly averted, the blue eyes were defiant. They didn't see the sadness that almost instantly clouded the green orbs under the shiny glasses.

"That rain isn't going to stop anytime soon," Kenren commented from out of the blue. He tossed a longish package in Tenpou's direction. The marshal had a little trouble trouble catching the bulky box. "I figured we'd be needing these."

"Taisho..." Tenpou murmured softly in quiet, but delighted surprise when he opened the package to find two large and very red umbrellas.

"They're big enough for two people," Kenren explained flippantly. "I figured it would be hard if all three of us had to carry our own umbrellas plus an extra one for Goku. This way, your hands will be free to hold the map as you navigate, Gensui." He regarded Konzen with a playful smile, "Unless you're too good to carry your own umbrella."

The marshal turned to his sulking blonde friend. "Shall we go, then?"

The mug was placed on the window sill and Konzen rose silently from his seat.

"_**What are you waiting for?"**_

Dr. Hwan's fingers tightened around the syringe she was holding. She clenched her teeth, biting down whatever nasty remark she wanted to lash out at her current employer and lab partner.

Ni Jen Yi smiled sadistically from where he was sitting. "Is something wrong, Dr. Hwan?"

"Aren't you worried that you might kill him? We've taken a large amount of blood from him," the female doctor reasoned out, trying hard to find some excuse to postpone her task. It wasn't unusual for her to feel guilty about experimenting on a living creature. When she was in school, she didn't feel like it was right for her and her classmates to kill animals to use as specimens. When she began working with living subjects, she took many precautions to make sure that she was causing as little pain as possible.

A short derisive laugh, "Then things would be so much easier for you. You won't have to worry about hurting him, anymore."

"Hn," Dr. Hwan haughtily tossed her hair, but her grip on the syringe did not falter. As she got older, she began to become more outwardly callous, but the guilt inside her kept growing. At some point, she stopped looking at her subjects as living things. She began regarding them as just _things_, with no name, no feelings...

But Dr. Ni was forcing her to work so closely with this one. She was forced to see the pain she was inflicting. She was forced to see the subject's reactions. On some level, she knew Dr. Ni was also experimenting on her, as well. He was observing her. He was mentally taking down notes about her. She had always known that, but did not do anything about it.

She approached one of the clear tubes connected to the tank the boy was in. She watched the red liquid passing through the tubes with one resigned thought.

_**Perhaps this is what I deserve.**_

He had been imprisoned for what seemed like eternity. He was a bit relieved. After an eternity of pain, he began getting used to the sensations that were being forced on his body. He felt weak and numb. He was grateful for that because the fire had gone away. He was now alone with his thoughts.

His thoughts...

Somehow they made him want to feel the electric shock again. At least there was something to distract him from the horrible dreams. _Maybe I should stop praying that Sanzo will save me. I'm nothing but a bother to him. I killed him. And even if he was alive, why would he save someone like me?_

"That's right, Goku, why would Sanzo save you? Why would anyone save you?"

Goku felt lost in his own mind, but he was more than a bit surprised to hear a voice in his head like that. He was quite sure that he should be alone in his own head.

"Don't be so surprised, Goku. I've always been around. I've never left your side even though you always wanted me gone."

_Where is that voice coming from?_

"We've been separated for so long," the voice was familiar to Goku, but he still couldn't place it. "And yet, we've never been truly apart. I've always been here taking good care of you. Not like that guy."

"_Not like Konzen..."_

The last few words repeated over and over like a sick commercial in Goku's head. He wracked his consciousness trying to get rid of the sound of the strange voice only to realize something strange. _That voice..._

_...It's mine._

**_Author's Notes:_**

_I'm sorry, I know it's not nice writing Goku off as a schizophrenic, but that's how I see his relationship with the Seiten Taisen is. Oh, an apologies for any OOC-ness ( is that a word? ) you might find. I'm still struggling with characterization._

_Thanks for reading!_

_ paris_


	6. Chapter Five

_**Chapter Five**_

Tenpou Gensui was one of the bravest soldiers in heaven. There were very few things Tenpou Gensui was afraid of because Tenpou Gensui was smart enough to easily rationalize his fears and face them.

So why was Tenpou Gensui so afraid of sharing a large red umbrella?

Perhaps it had something to do with a certain general with whom he had to share an umbrella with. The marshal sighed. There was something his human wife had told him once that kept ringing in his ears as he resigned himself to his fate of sharing an umbrella with the taisho.

"_**There's something romantic about walking under the rain with someone you love."**_

Kanan smiled up at Cho Gonou right after she said those words. It was the young woman's reply to her husband when she was questioned why she wanted to go to the marketplace with him in the middle of the pouring rain. When she saw the confused expression on her new husband's face, she blushed and turned to watch the leaves of the trees dancing as they were showered with the silvery droplets. "I know it's a foolish girl's fantasy," Kanan continued, somewhat embarrassed. "We don't have to do it if you don't want to. We can always wait for the rain to stop."

Gonou's gaze softened. Walking in the rain was a small gift he could give his wife. "It's fine with me. We can go now if you're ready." She wasn't really asking for much, was she?

Her pretty face lit up and she handed Gonou the one umbrella they had in the house, "Let's go!"

The green-eyed man opened the door for his wife and himself, and then opened the umbrella. The moment he lifted the umbrella to its working position, Kanan took his hand with childish excitement, barely giving him time to pull the door behind him.

The umbrella was barely big enough for them, so he put his arm around her to keep her close. They talked about mundane things as they made their way to the marketplace, which was quite a walk from where they lived. She laughed. He laughed. Gonou had never seen his beloved look more beautiful. He was glad that he had agreed to this.

"We're here," Kanan broke into his thoughts as they came upon the first few shops of the marketplace. She looked up at the sky. "And look, the rain has stopped."

"So it has," Gonou lowered the umbrella and shielded his eyes as he lifted his face to gaze up at the suddenly sunny sky. There was a wistful note in his voice.

He almost felt bad that he had to close the umbrella.

He was quiet as she shopped. He had a new appreciation for his lover. He was compelled to watch her every move in silent and distant admiration. He didn't want to speak or touch her for fear that he would disturb this new perfection he had discovered.

But Kanan quickly picked up the change in her companion's attitude, "Is there something on your mind, Gonou?"

"No, nothing really," Gonou shook his head, a tender smile on his face.

"What is it?" she insisted, her eyes becoming dewy and pleading.

Gonou chuckled. "It's nothing. I was just thinking that you were right."

"Right? About what?"

"_**That there is something romantic about walking under the rain."**_

"Did you say something, gensui?" Kenren's frown was more inquisitive than anything else. He raised an eyebrow at his superior.

A faint pink colored Tenpou's normally pale cheeks, but he maintained his composure. "We were in this area when we felt Goku's power, am I correct?" Tenpou asked no one in particular.

Kenren looked around. Yes, this was the place, "Yeah."

The brown-haired officer scanned the terrain. There was a mountain range to their left and the city was behind them. He thought they were heading east, but it was just a guess based on their movements over the past few days. Without the sun or a compass, it was difficult to tell. He glanced at his map and compared it to where they were. A familiar name caught his eye. "I think I've got it."

Tenpou's words immediately caught Konzen's attention. Though he didn't rush to his friend's side to look at the map or ask any questions, the gleam in his eyes said everything. He would never have admitted it, but he was ecstatic that there was hope.

"Konzen, can you feel Goku's energy anywhere?" Tenpou asked.

"No," a terse answer, not uncharacteristic of the surly god.

"And Kenren, do you remember the last time you saw Goku? Did you feel his energy?" Tenpou questioned further.

Kenren was confused, but he trusted his marshal so he answered without hesitation. "Yes, from miles away." He sighed inwardly. It was difficult for him to have to be with Tenpou at the moment, but he had to talk to his commanding officer. There were a lot of things he wanted to tell Tenpou. He had bought the umbrellas on impulse. He had hoped that the confines of the umbrella would force them to discuss the matters at hand, but the whole time, the gensui seemed lost in his own world. He didn't even seem to notice Kenren. It probably wasn't something new for Tenpou to have someone carry his umbrella, but he was Kenren for crying out loud! But, the prick Tenpou, coldhearted as he was, was smart and probably had a very good idea as to how they could find Goku. For that and so many other nameless reasons, Kenren couldn't stay mad at him.

"Then, I think I know where he is." Tenpou turned to face one of the mountains in the north. He traced a circle around a spot on the map. "We're almost there..."

Konzen's fine brow knitted as he examined the landscape with a more critical eye. "I've been here before."

"Yes, you should have, as Genjo Sanzo," Tenpou handed the partially rolled up map to Konzen. "That over there," a long finger pointed in the direction of the mountain range. "Is where you freed Goku from his imprisonment."

Kenren's memories as Gojyo were quickly called up. "You're kidding..."

Tenpou pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I'm afraid not. It's the only place I can think of that could seal off Goku's power so that we can't feel it."

The two were interrupted by the sound of the map rolling shut. "Let's go." Something in Konzen's voice said without words that the two others better keep quiet. He kept hold of the map and led the way.

As a warning about things to come, lightning flashed and thunder boomed and the rain poured harder around them.

Kenren noticed that Tenpou's shoulder and a good part of his back were getting wet. He immediately put his arm around the bespectacled man, pulling him closer. "We can't afford you getting sick. You're fragile enough as you are," Kenren reasoned out when glass covered greens blinked up at him in askance.

Trying not to relish the warmth of his general's body, Tenpou managed to say the only words that came to his mind so easily muddled by Kenren's presence. "Thank you, taisho."

"Don't mention it, gensui."

**_Author's Notes:_**

_Not much Goku here. Sorry, Goku fans. Yes, it's another Kenren-Tenpou relationship centered chapter. I can't believe I managed to write two in such a short period of time._

_Oh yeah, what's the name of the mountain Goku was imprisoned in? I can't remember... Was it Gogyo? Wouldn't want to make a mistake in the next chapter..._

_In case I'm deviating from canon, please excuse me, I'm not very familiar with the things that happened in Heaven. Some people are annoyed when you don't follow canon, so if anyone's bothered by some strange idea or scenario I've presented, my sincerest apologies to you._

_Anyway, thank you for reading up this point!_

_Paris_


	7. Chapter Six

_**Chapter Six**_

Emptiness surrounded him.

How long had it been since anything was done to him?

The silence inside his containment unit was deafening. The fluid blocked his ears and prevented him from opening his eyes. Somehow, the fluid also kept him immobilized. The air that was being piped into his mask had neither smell nor taste. The air wasn't even dry enough to hurt his nose or throat as he breathed.

It was unnatural.

He felt like he was dead, but he was well aware that he was alive.

Sensory deprivation had to be the worst form of torture, especially since you're left alone with yourself. He tried to block the voice in his head, though he knew quite well that he was trapped. There was no way he could escape from himself.

_If this keeps up, I'll lose myself for sure!_

"Are we going crazy, Goku?"

_Get out of my head, you freak!_

He could mentally picture his Seiten Taisei form grinning at him with soulless eyes. He could almost feel the clawed fingers curling around his chin. "Your head? I was here first. You're the intruder."

_Go away! Get away from me! _Goku screamed inside his mind. But the sound was fast drowned by his own sinister laughter.

_**Goku desperately struggled against his liquid bonds.**_

"He seems to be having some difficulty, don't you think?" Dr. Ni asked the cute bunny doll sitting on his lap as he observed Goku from his seat beside the computer that monitored all of the Itan child's vitals. The little stuffed animal nodded in agreement on his command. His eyes wandered over to his curly haired female companion who was watching their specimen with guilt-ridden eyes. "Is there something wrong, Dr. Hwan?" the amusement in his voice was not disguised.

The emotion in the female doctor's eyes were immediately blinked away to be replaced by her usual haughty and aggressive character. "Nothing at all," she breezed by him to get closer to the monitors. It was hard to tell whether she was pretending or actually taking down notes about the graphs and line shapes on the screens. "His heart rate and breathing are normal. His body temperature is slightly higher than what you'd expect from a normal youkai or human, but within reasonable deviation..."

Dr. Ni yawned widely, quickly irking Dr. Hwan.

"I'm sorry. Is this boring you?" she snapped irritably as she turned on her heels to face the scruffy-faced scientist. But, instead of the condescending grin of a man, she came face to face with the condescending grin of a stuffed rabbit.

The rabbit's body wagged from side to side as it spoke in Dr. Ni's strange falsetto. "That's all useless information, old lady."

"Useless!" Dr. Hwan screeched in a not-so-doctorly fashion. She clenched her fingers around her pen and tightened her grip on her clipboard.

The little bunny danced in front of her face. "You shouldn't stress over little things too much. That's why you're getting wrinkles all over your face."

Dr. Hwan pushed the stuffed rabbit out of her line of sight with her clipboard. "Get away from me!" she growled. Realizing she had once again lost her temper, she took a deep breath and brushed imaginary dirt off the front of her lab gown. She really should be used to his snide and twisted sense of humor. She set her notes and clipboard down on some free space by the keys of the machine monitoring the breathing. "I'm going to go make coffee."

"Make mine extra strong," Dr. Ni requested sweetly as his lab partner breezed by him again, but this time, to get the door. When the heavy automatic doors hummed open, he added, "But make yours decaf so you'll be more relaxed."

Dr. Hwan made some strange sound that seemed to be out of frustration and resignation, and yet out of pure irritation as she marched out of the room. The door whooshed shut behind her.

When he was alone, Dr. Ni picked up Dr. Hwan's notes. He examined the meticulous handwriting. "She's obsessive-compulsive, isn't she?" he commented, addressing the little rabbit on his lap. He didn't need to read the notes, he knew what she had earlier told him was all that was written there. "She loves to keep track of all the little details, but she still misses the most important part."

Dr. Ni walked over to the machine monitoring the brain waves, clipboard and bunny in his hands. He flipped through the papers on the board, scanning the older notes, and then he examined the violent fluctuations of the EEG on the screen. "We should be finding our lightning soon."

He walked out of the room and down a long and dark hallway. He eventually reached another facility. He placed his hand on a scanner and put his stuffed rabbit's face in front of another. The first scanner scanned his hand print while the second scanner, strangely enough, scanned the rabbit's nose. When both scanners confirmed that the person accessing the room was authorized, the doors slid open and a computerized voice spoke the welcoming message. "Good day, Dr. Ni, Komagoro-san."

Dr. Ni stepped in and the doors closed behind him.

This room had about two dozen containment units in it. Each containment unit had a person suspended in the thick yellow liquid Goku was imprisoned in, but without the aid of better lighting, it was impossible to tell who. The good doctor, of course, was well aware of the identity of the unfortunate beings that were inside the glass containers. This made him smile. He spoke to the little rabbit in his arms, "Things are about to become very interesting..."

"_**...It shouldn't be long, now."**_

His words were more an encouragement for himself as Tenpou estimated the distance of narrow mountain paths they had yet to take. He was already exhausted, but if he was correct, they were very close to where Goku was. He tried hard not to lean on the general who had kept an arm around him in order to keep him close and, perhaps unintentionally, warm. He couldn't let on how much he needed to sit down and rest.

But Kenren noticed. The damn observant general noticed the fatigue quickly settling in. "Maybe we should stop here and plan our next move. We sure as hell can't search every inch of these mountains."

"Do what you like, I'm not stopping," Konzen grunted as he walked on, not even slowing down.

Before Kenren could react, he felt a warm calming hand resting on his arm. "He's right. We shouldn't stop," Tenpou stared his general straight in the eye. "We don't know what's happening to Goku. We don't know what could happen if he stays Seiten Taisei too long."

"But..." the protest was quickly cut off.

"I'm sorry, taisho, but that's an order," the marshal doggedly trudged forward. He didn't care if he stepped beyond the protection of the umbrella. It was his fault that Goku was back to his Seiten Taisei form. It was his fault that they couldn't find him last night. He smiled at his own thoughts.

_**This isn't like me at all.**_

Goku fought off the images of death and destruction that were being played in his head. Towns he had rampaged in, humans and demons he had killed, and lives he had destroyed with these actions resurfaced in his memory and crashed over him like a tidal wave.

_I'm not that killer!_

"You kill to survive," golden eyes bore unfeelingly into his own. The voice that rang throughout his entire mind spoke with such certainty. "That's the natural order of things: kill or be killed."

_They were affected by the Minus Wave..._

"Yes, you can keep telling yourself that," a toothy grin appeared on his alter ego's face. "Even though you killed your Sanzo, Kougaiji, and Ririn who weren't affected. Even though you killed Hakkai long after the wave was gone."

_No, you killed them. I would never..._

Again. Laughter. "But I am you!" There was an almost compassionate expression on the Seiten Taisei's face. "Now, stop living with this guilt. Forget your name, Son Goku, that is not who you are." For the first time since his limiters were destroyed, Goku felt warmth envelope him. He was in the embrace of his stronger self, wasn't he? "Come and be one with me again. Stop thinking and stop battling with me..."

"...Rest..."

He let it go. He let go of himself.

_**And Goku stopped struggling.**_

"He's calmed down," Dr. Hwan observed. She went back to the different monitors to confirm the specimen's state.

Dr. Ni didn't need to check all the monitors, he just needed one reading. He glanced at the brain wave patterns. He knew that his subject was kept in a state of comatose. He had induced it. There shouldn't have been as much brain activity as was being shown on the EEG earlier that day. Now, the EEG patterns were stable. "Yes, it's time."

**_Author's Notes:_**

_I'm not sure how people are going to take this chapter. It was kind of strange making the Seiten Taisei talk to Goku like that (no one corrected me when I used Seiten Taisen, so I'm confused, what is the correct name of Goku's full youkai form?)._

_I hope the characters (Ni, Hwan, and Goku, in particular) weren't too OOC._

_Thanks for reading this far! I hope you're enjoying yourselves._

_-paris_


	8. Chapter Seven

**_Chapter Seven_**

Konzen grit his teeth as he trudged up the mountain. Where the topsoil was relatively thick, his feet sank into the muddy ground making his sandals stick to the path. On the other hand, if he walked on bare rock or on places where the topsoil was very thin, rainwater made the path very slippery. The bottom of his robes was already caked with mud, and a muddy hem brushing against his legs was one of the things Konzen hated feeling.

As he constantly denied that he was really worried about his ward, he found himself questioning his motives for this trip. Left alone, without his busybody aunt or Tenpou or Tenpou's licentious general popping out of nowhere to offer unwelcome company or Goku causing some form of mayhem in the immediate vicinity, Konzen found himself entertaining thoughts he had often shoved to the back of his mind. As he climbed the mountain, he wondered why he was going through all this effort.

Whenever he saved Goku from whatever mishap he had caused, Konzen always told himself that he was doing things because he was answerable for Goku's actions. As Goku's caretaker, he was responsible for everything Goku did.

_But this, I'm not liable for this anymore. Why am I doing this?_

**_Why am I still his keeper?_**

"Because you were just begging for the part," Tenpou reasoned out as they trailed after Kenren and Goku who were busy horsing around with each other.

"What do you mean 'begging for the part'? I have enough work as it is," Konzen ranted to his friend. "I don't need additional concerns. Why not give the kid to your general over there? They're a matched set."

Tenpou paused for a moment to take in the scene of Kenren running after a laughing Goku who had commandeered his pack of cigarettes. His smile became a little more genuine. "Because Kenren can't take care of him. He'd be a bad influence on the boy."

"He's a bad influence right now," Konzen growled as he stomped after Goku who had lit one of his stolen cigarettes and was about to try it out, under Kenren's watchful eye, of course.

"Yare yare," the marshal chuckled as Konzen yelled at Goku.

"Aw, come on, Konzen," Kenren came up to Goku's defense. "Lighten up."

"It's just a cigarette," Goku added.

"It's not just a cigarette!" Konzen glowered at Goku and Kenren. "It's a cigarette! It's a vice! It's a bad habit!"

"It's not like we're going to die from it," the general pointed out. They were gods, after all.

"He has a point, you know," Tenpou spoke up from behind Konzen, quickly diverting the angered blonde's attention.

Konzen glared at his childhood friend, "Stop encouraging them."

A few minutes later—after Konzen had properly reprimanded Kenren and Goku and Tenpou had confiscated Kenren's cigarettes—the group resumed their little walk.

"You have absolutely no patience with children," Tenpou observed when Kenren and Goku's games once again took them far enough for their companions' conversation to be held in relative privacy.

Konzen was scowling and he continued to keep a vigilant watch on Goku's activities. He was irritated that Kenren would be so lacking in common sense as to offer cigarettes to a child. He was frustrated the Goku had asked. "You have patience, why don't you take care of the monkey?"

"I already have Kenren," the bespectacled man reminded Konzen. "And Goku is already used to you."

Konzen grunted. He was resigned to his fate, but did not necessarily like it. But, aside from being clearly pissed, he was a bit surprised at himself. It had been a while since he had been that piqued. The last time he had that kind of flare up was...

...so long ago that he couldn't even remember.

"Ne, Konzen."

His thoughts were interrupted, as he would have expected. He could never seem to think. Someone was always butting into his brooding time. He looked down at a very apologetic Goku. "What is it?" his tone was irate.

Goku handed him a bunch of random flowers picked from the roadsides of Heaven, "Sorry for trying to try a cigarette. Please don't be mad anymore," he said.

Konzen examined the small gift he had been given. The flowers were weeds in Heaven, really, but they seemed much more beautiful at that moment. "Stop being stupid."

_Stop being stupid, don't ever do that again._

_Stop being stupid, I'm not mad at you._

He didn't need to say it out loud.

"I told you he wasn't mad at you," Kenren laughed.

Come to think of it, he had been less bored since Goku arrived. He felt proud when he saw Goku, with Tenpou's help, manage to use chopsticks for the first time. He was flattered when Goku asked him of all people for a name. He sometimes even welcomed Goku whenever the boy bound into his office, distracting him from his work.

No, that couldn't be right. Goku couldn't be the source of all the emotions that were suddenly reacquainting themselves with Konzen. He didn't even want to think about it, because he was _sure_ Kanzeon Bosatsu could read minds and would throw this revelation at his face if she found out. He would never admit to himself that he had come to realize that he was beginning to look forward to a new day.

**_He kept Goku because Goku was Goku._**

Goku wasn't very smart.

He wasn't very good at following orders, either. He was loud whenever Konzen told him to keep quiet. He was annoying whenever Konzen told him to stop being annoying. He got dirt everywhere when Konzen told him to stay clean.

But Goku tried. He tried his best to follow whatever Konzen told him. He wasn't disobedient, he was just curious, full of questions, and energetic. He wasn't really that annoying, he just got on Konzen's nerves because he was so perceptive and quickly found all the little buttons that Konzen had kept hidden for centuries.

A strong gust of wind caught his umbrella dragging him forward. Konzen cursed all the stuck up gods he knew when he slipped on a rock and fell. His umbrella went flying ahead of him. Now, not just the bottom of his robes was wet. He didn't even find the time to be grateful that he didn't fall face flat on mud.

When he bent his leg to position himself so he could stand up, he felt a sting that he had almost forgotten. He sat back on a rock and pulled up his robe to reveal a scraped knee.

_**Konzen frowned and looked dejectedly at the injured knee.**_

"Hold still, you stupid monkey," he grunted as he picked up a bottle of antiseptic. He poured some of the clear liquid onto some cotton and began applying it on Goku's knee.

"Ow!" Goku whined. "Konzen, that hurts!"

"I told you to hold still," the blonde deity snapped. He leaned closer to wound and gently blew on it as he dabbed antiseptic onto it again. Goku stared at him, his cheeks tinted pink. So fascinated was the boy that he stayed still and quiet until his knee was properly cleaned and bandaged.

"Wow, Konzen, that feels so much better!" Goku cheered, giving his caretaker a wide-eyed happy look. He jumped up off the chair he was sitting on and tested his leg. "Thanks!"

"Now go bother Kenren or something."

"WAIII! See you later, Konzen!"

Konzen watched his ward run off with fondness in his amethyst gaze. The fondness turned into worry when he remembered that the people of Heaven were very much afraid of—to the point that they loathed—the boy. He gave the boy a silent blessing he would never have allowed anyone to hear.

**_Be alright, Goku._**

Konzen picked himself up and resumed his trek. A few feet ahead, the umbrella seemed to be taunting him like a red cape taunting a bull. He wanted to leave it; he was already wet, anyway. It was what made him slip, as well.

He walked over to the umbrella. He folded it and used it as a cane.

It had better be raining when they return with Goku.

**_Author's Notes:_**

_Yeah, awful. Heheh... I couldn't figure out how I would write out Konzen and Goku's relationship. Err... I was going for... conflicted. Please don't hurt me, Konzen and Goku fans, I did my best! Konzen/Sanzo is just a difficult character to work with.  
_

_Reviews are much appreciated. Flame if you must. Constructive criticisms would be better._

_Sorry for the very slow update. Thanks for sticking with me._

_And thanks for reading up to this point. _

_- paris_


	9. Chapter Eight

_Bad Paris, forgot the disclaimers_

_**Disclaimer**: Saiyuki is not mine. The story is fictional and all similarities to people and events in real life are coincidences. _

**Breaking the Darkness**

_**Chapter Eight**_

It was odd.

They weren't even in what he would consider to be high altitudes and Tenpou was already having trouble breathing. He and Kenren had slowed considerably since Konzen had declared that there was no way in hell he was stopping. And now, he couldn't even see Konzen's umbrella. It didn't help the situation any that the rain had let up a bit only to give way to a thick fog.

For a moment, the marshal lost his bearings and his knees gave way under the large amount of stress he was putting on his body. Even a god has limits.

"That's it! We're staying here and that's that!" Kenren growled as he lunged forward to snatch at the white lab coat covered arm, which was a little over an arm's length away. He stopped Tenpou's fall and pulled the bespectacled man back up towards him.

"Kenren Taisho!" the rise in Tenpou's voice was more out of surprise than anger at the insubordination. "I believe I gave an order. We move forward." He was used to his general disobeying orders from other officers, but Kenren was his general. Kenren never disobeyed Tenpou.

Almost never.

"You can't even stay on your feet!" Kenren stood his ground. He knew that on a normal day Tenpou was as strong as he was; so the fact that his superior had not fought to free himself spoke volumes about his physical condition. He used both arms to hold Tenpou close to him and keep him in place. "I don't care. Konzen can handle Goku for now," his voice was soft and rough, but powerful in the other man's ear.

"But..." as he spoke, Tenpou realized he was speechless—quite uncharacteristic of him, if he could say so himself. There were a lot of words, phrases, even complete sentences in his head, but he could not make them come out. All he could do was be aware of the warm leather clad arms that were wrapped around him.

"I know it seems selfish and I don't want to lose Goku any more than you do," Kenren continued, not loosening his embrace in the slightest. If he had heard Tenpou's meek protest, he didn't give any sign of it, but he did feel his commanding officer tense. They had been at odds this entire trip. Even as they shared the confined dry space of the umbrella, they stayed trapped in an uncomfortable air. Kenren had been hoping to confront Tenpou about their relationship, and this was a good a chance as any. "But..."

If time had slowed when Kenren took him in his arms, time definitely stopped as Tenpou anticipated the unspoken words. He wanted to hear them so badly for one very good reason, but he did not want to hear the same words with equal desperation for a million others.

Kenren hesitated. Tenpou must have his reasons, as twisted as they may be. The other man never did anything that he didn't see as logically correct. Then, his blue eyes were quickly filled with pain born from a comprehension of what his dearest friend wanted. He did not let go, but he gave Tenpou the freedom to move in his embrace. "...I can't have you killing yourself for Goku. I know Goku wouldn't want that..."

Upon the speaking of those words, the world began to move again. Out of the corner of his eye, Tenpou noticed the bright red umbrella rolling lazily about their feet where Kenren had dropped it. Only at that moment did he feel the droplets of rain slowly soaking them. Only at that time did he find his voice and become aware of himself and that time had not stood still for them. He could have easily broken free of his bonds, but he stayed in them, stealing a moment for both himself and Kenren. He was glad that he had his back turned to the general. He knew he could not erase the longing from his eyes, because only then did the disappointment sink in.

They stood there in the rain, the general holding his marshal close, a forgotten umbrella at their feet, and the echoes of unspoken words ringing in their heads.

"_...I know I wouldn't want that."_

Tenpou was the first to break the silence. "You should pick that umbrella up, taisho, or we'll both be out of commission with pneumonia and quite useless in Goku's rescue if we stay this way too long." His smile was already in place and his eyes were already perfectly masked when he turned to face his general.

"Konzen douji-sama will probably kill us on his way back if that happens," Kenren grinned, seeing things were back to the way they normally were. Tenpou being a cold prick with a sharp tongue who quite obviously had feelings for his general boiling underneath his mask, threatening to break it and Kenren being the gorgeous general with a devil-may-care attitude who reciprocated said feelings of said prick. Yes, things were back to normal.

_**Yes, just as they should be.**_

"What is?" curly locks bobbed as Dr. Hwan turned, a bit startled when the man with her suddenly spoke.

Dr. Ni was staring at the EEG readings intently. He ignored her question and presented his own. "Do you know the difference between the living and the dead, Dr. Hwan?" he asked his colleague almost innocently. When he saw that the woman had lifted a suspicious eyebrow at him, he rephrased his question. "We are made up of the very same elements as the rocks on the ground. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sodium, potassium, and even the trace elements in the body are all found in this very mountain we are standing on, but it isn't alive. Why are we?"

Had Dr. Hwan been talking to anyone else, she would have replied, 'Because we have souls.' But a philosophical answer like that would earn a lot of derision from good old Usagi-chan. Dr. Ni needed a more scientifically based answer. It couldn't be mobility, because plants could not move on their own. It couldn't be awareness, because only the animals had that. A mind or a brain was only for animals, as well, "Metabolism."

"Bingo," the fluffy pink bunny dancing in front of Dr. Hwan's face told her she got the correct answer.

"Now," Dr. Ni popped up from behind his toy. "Can you tell me the difference between the thinking and those that don't think?"

_Thought?_ Dr. Hwan nearly said, but she stopped herself and searched for a more correct answer. "A brain, of course."

"Boo!" the fluffy bunny was thrust at the female doctor's face again. "Even a cockroach has a primitive brain, and it lives on instinct—as do everything else. The difference is..."

"...Lightning," Dr. Ni put his toy back down on his lap. He was still smiling, but his expression was no longer jesting. His smile was one of satisfaction—like a cat that had finally caught a mouse.

Dr. Hwan frowned thoughtfully. Lightning? Why lightning? Lightning is related to electricity and all nerve activity, including brain activity, was governed by some form of electric signal. _Is that what Ni is talking about? _she wondered. "I'm afraid I don't quite comprehend."

But the other doctor seemed lost in his own dream world, no doubt planning something.

Seeing that she would be ignored for some time, Dr. Hwan busied herself with tidying up the laboratory. Every now and then, she would steal a glance at the boyish figure inside their containment unit. Dr. Ni had stopped doing tests and he had stopped taking blood and other body fluids from their specimen. It wasn't like the other doctor to leave a project unfinished. He could obsess over an experiment for decades; she had been witness to that.

_What will he do to you next?_ Dr. Hwan wondered as she studied their test subject for the first time since Dr. Ni had brought him in.

"Don't get too attached," Dr. Ni advised. When his companion turned to him in askance, he gestured towards a small screen with a flashing orange light above it. The screen showed two men entering one of the many caves that riddled the face of the mountain range. "His friends are coming to pick him up."

How Ni Jen Yi knew that these people were coming for the boy, Dr. Hwan could only guess, but she couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips. She quickly hid her happiness under a mocking grin. "Too bad he couldn't stay."

"Oh, I'm not too disappointed," Dr. Ni's hand strayed to his pocket where a small remote sat. He pressed the single button of the remote. "I just thought you would be, since you two were becoming real close."

The lights of the laboratory suddenly turned off. The computer screens one by one blacked out save for the one on the EEG. All the machines except the containment unit shut down.

"What—?" the female doctor obviously had no idea what was going on.

Dr. Ni, on the other hand, looked expectant as a loud humming sound came from the wirings in the ceiling. A strong electric current that looked like lightning flowed into the containment unit striking the young brunette inside and causing an explosion in the lab. The boy cried out in pain, but his voice could not reach the two adults.

Dr. Hwan just stared in shock.

"It really isn't wise for us to stay here, anymore," the male opened a small door in an obscure corner of the room. "Or will you stay here to dance with your new boyfriend."

When she realized that her heels were sloshing in some kind of liquid, the woman came to her senses and squinted to get a better look at the containment unit in the dark room. She saw that the fluid inside it had almost been completely drained and the young man inside was on his knees and breathing. Oh, he so wouldn't be happy when he gets out. She spun around towards the door Dr. Ni had oh-so-valiantly kept open for her.

"Coming?" he was still smiling in this situation.

"What did you do?" Dr. Hwan screamed at him as she ran past.

In his mind's eye, Ni Jen Yi pictured the two dozen tanks in his other lab being struck by the same "lightning" and draining. He well knew that the creatures inside were waking up as well. He was giddy with excitement. "I just became God," he replied as he shut the door behind them.

**_Author's Notes:_**

_Thank you so much to those who reviewed. I'm really sorry that it takes me so long to update. I hope the characters aren't to OOC._

_Thank you very much for reading up to this point. I'm just happy you're all enjoying._

_Til the next update!_

_-paris_


	10. Chapter Nine

_They said only God could create a living being from the base elements. They said only God could create man from mere mud. _Ni Jen Yi leaned on the wall of the halls of the narrow passageway and pulled out a cigarette. _I suppose that makes me God. _His smile was disturbingly wide even as his surroundings shook and fell apart with multiple explosions from his laboratory.

Everything he created before was being destroyed by his greatest creation yet. It was a fitting price, in his opinion.

He placed the cigarette between his lips as he fished for a lighter in his pocket. His other hand was preoccupied with holding onto his precious stuffed rabbit. He didn't even pause from what he was doing when Dr. Hwan passed him. "We don't have to run now. It won't come after us," he informed his colleague when his cigarette was lit. "Between prey and immediate threat, an animal will go after the threat."

Dr. Hwan stopped and just looked at him curiously as he slid down the wall to slump down onto the floor. He placed Komagoro on his lap and turned the bunny over so its tail was facing him. "What are you doing, now?"

"Don't you know?" the male doctor located a zipper that opened the backside of the rabbit. Amidst the stuffing of the doll was a small device with a screen about twice the size of a regular playing card. He pushed on a switch at the side and the LCD came to life. "God likes to watch and laugh."

On the screen was an army of Seiten Taisen waking up and breaking out of their containment units.

_**Chapter Nine**_

The fog was getting thicker, but Konzen pushed on. He knew where he was going. He didn't need to see what was ahead and what was behind; he only needed to know that each step he made was sure and would bring him forward safely. It seemed like he had been walking forever. His thighs felt like they were on fire from all the upward hiking he had been doing, but he didn't care.

It was just ahead, calling him.

It wasn't even a lifetime ago when he last had been here—well, not him exactly, his past life as the monk Genjo Sanzo. And though the chi he was following was very weak, but he recognized its wave pattern. It was very familiar to him not like an old friend would be, but like the symptoms of an illness he had caught once. It was definitely from a ward—a ward to keep away youkai or keep one trapped, depending on which side of the bars it was standing. He knew exactly what these wards' purpose had been.

It didn't take him long to reach a small cave.

Little pieces of paper that were the remnants of wards decorated the tiny entryway of the cave. The cave was open, now, not barred like it had been when he had first come upon it. It was empty, not like before when Goku had been in it. What was left of the wards crumbled to dust at Konzen's touch.

Konzen dropped to the ground to enter the cave. He left the umbrella outside, because with him alone, it was already too cramped. He maneuvered his body until he was slouched on the cave floor. He bent his legs so that his entire body was within the cave. He sat there in that decidedly uncomfortable position, facing the grayness of the fog just outside, imagining living as he was at that moment.

_Five hundred years in a place like this, _Konzen felt the tears flow without warning. _You didn't deserve this, Goku. You don't deserve any of this._

He was larger than Goku had been when he was trapped in this place, so he found it difficult to even lean over so he could get on all fours to crawl out. He was just about to slide out when a strong earthquake rocked the mountain.

"_**What was that?"**_

Kenren tightened his hold on the sleeping man in his arms.

Right after their conversation in the rain, Tenpou had collapsed into Kenren's arms out of sheer exhaustion. With assurance that he wasn't letting anyone down, Tenpou let his own guard down. Kenren had supported Tenpou until he found a cave where they could both rest. He had removed the marshal's shoes and wet coat, shirt, and socks. Tenpou had been shivering and Kenren decided to warm the marshal up with his own body heat. He had briefly considered the number of techniques to share body heat and concluded that his commanding officer would most likely not take waking up with the general's body, no matter how warm, on top of him too well. He opted to just wrap the other man in his leather coat and hold him tight.

He felt the brown-haired man stir, and Kenren swore that if Tenpou woke up the general would deck his commanding officer to put him right back to sleep.

"Kenren?" a pair of bleary, but peerless green eyes blinked up at him.

Okay, so he wouldn't really do that, at least not until his impractically self-sacrificing superior suggested something stupid. "Go back to sleep, Tenpou, that was nothing," he tried to sound nonchalant.

Another bout of explosions fully awakened Tenpou. "That wasn't 'nothing', taisho," he said pointedly. He didn't move from his position, though. He just fell silent.

Kenren knew the marshal was thinking about something. In a battle situation, that was rarely a good thing. Any situation that made Tenpou think for too long was either dangerous or required something risky. It made Kenren restless. "Hey," and he sure as hell wasn't going to let Tenpou leave him out of whatever battle plan was being formed in his pretty little head. "What are you thinking about?"

"Do you know where Konzen is?"

"No," Kenren frowned. The blond could do whatever the hell he pleased. "He can take care of himself, you know."

Tenpou leaned back on Kenren's chest. "That's not it," he explained. "If we can't feel Konzen it means we can't feel the enemy until they're close enough to attack us."

"But it would be the same for the enemy," Kenren pointed out.

Tenpou shook his head. "We don't know who our enemy is. We don't know their strengths. They may be able to smell or hear us. You have to go after Konzen." Tenpou was worried. His friend could hold his own in a bar brawl, but the blond deity was not a trained fighter. What could a bureaucrat do when faced with a strong enemy? Talk the enemy to death? _And Konzen's not even that good in that department._

"And what about you?" it was more a retort than an inquiry. Kenren knew full and well how masochistic Tenpou had been of late. He was not leaving a man with suicidal tendencies behind in a place that could easily be attacked.

Tenpou challenged his general with his eyes. "I can take care of myself, Kenren Taisho." He sounded sure of what he was saying, but he knew quite well that there was no way he would be able to defend himself. He barely had the strength to walk! But still, he said, "Our assignment was to accompany and take care of Konzen-douji and help him locate Goku. Allowing Konzen to wander around the wilderness alone is not part of the mission."

The general frowned, "You're such a pain," he complained. He let his marshal go. "You put my coat on while your clothes are drying."

"Thank you, taisho," Tenpou was more referring to Kenren's sudden obedience and not the coat. He, in return, obeyed and put the coat on. To his surprise, the moment he had the coat properly worn, he was hoisted up by strong arms and carried out of the cave like a bride. "What are you doing?"

"Going after Konzen like you told me to," Kenren answered flippantly.

Tenpou began to protest, but his general was already running up the narrow sloped paths of the rocky mountain and kicking and screaming like an abducted bride would not help their safety. He resorted to squinting through the fog, watching out for dangers coming from behind the taisho. He spied several figures approaching them slowly, systematically, as if stalking them like prey.

"_**Someone's there."**_

Konzen gripped his umbrella tightly. It was his only weapon and sole protection at the moment. He grumbled under his breath about unreliable Western army officers before swatting away with his umbrella the fool that had tried to attack him. Said fool had a face that was not unfamiliar to the bureaucrat god. Konzen froze when he saw golden eyes stare back at him with gleeful sinister. "Seiten Taisen!"

The Seiten Taisen in front of Konzen only growled in response. There was no trace of comprehension in his eyes. It only seemed intent on destruction. The blond glanced at his umbrella-weapon. Even if he had one of the guns that were used in heaven he didn't have a chance against the Itan child if the boy didn't choose to stop attacking on its own accord.

_Damn it. I'm not going to die a third time without saving Goku!_ Konzen resolved as he gathered up his power to create Goku's limiter. His resolve, however, was chipped somewhat when he found himself having to dodge another attack from the side. It was a good thing his peripheral vision wasn't screwed up. He fell to the ground and turned to the direction of his attacker. "Seiten Taisen?! But how did he get there?"

But the surprised turned out not to be the Seiten Taisen's speed, but rather, the fact that there was two of him. _And counting, _Konzen realized as more figures stepped out of the shadows.

-

_I missed this fic... I wonder if people are still reading it. If someone's still reading this, I hope you like this chapter. It's been a while since I did anything Saiyuki related. Hahah... with Gaiden where it is, this fic officially classifies as an AU. _

_  
Hope this was a fun read. Thanks for reading. Reviews make me post faster... or not. Xp_


	11. Chapter Ten

_Damn it. I'm not going to die a third time without saving Goku!_ Konzen resolved as he gathered up his power to create Goku's limiter. His resolve, however, was chipped somewhat when he found himself having to dodge another attack from the side. It was a good thing his peripheral vision wasn't screwed up. He fell to the ground and turned to the direction of his attacker. "Seiten Taisen?! But how did he get there?"

But the surprised turned out not to be the Seiten Taisen's speed, but rather, the fact that there was two of him. _And counting, _Konzen realized as more figures stepped out of the shadows.

_**Chapter Ten**_

"You never told me Goku had brothers, Tenpou!" Kenren yelled as he ran from the pursuing army of Seiten Taisens.

Tenpou noted that the distance between the two of them and their pursuers was getting smaller by the second. Kenren could not outrun them, especially not with him weighing the general down. It was only a matter of minutes before the two of them would have to fight. Tenpou cursed knowing that he didn't have enough strength to run, much less battle a group of powerful Itan children.

"Put me down, taisho," Tenpou ordered.

"The hell I will!" Kenren retorted not slowing down one bit. "Just how many are there?"

But Tenpou ignored the question and repeated his order in a louder voice. "Put me down now, Kenren Taisho! They're going to catch up with us soon."

"And what good would putting you down do, then?" the raven-haired general shot back. "I thought it was established that I would never let you get killed without me by your side when I died for you back then!"

Tenpou stiffened at the indirect confession and the memory of watching his general and closest ally executed in front of him. His voice took a dangerous and icy edge to it when he spoke his next words into Kenren's ear. "I have no intention of getting you killed. Put me down this instant, taisho." How he was able to refuse that tone, Kenren would never know. But somehow, he managed to ignore the order. "There is no point in wasting your energy running and bearing my weight when fighting is inevitable."

"I thought you liked getting carried around like a blushing bride," Kenren shrugged flippantly, not slowing down. "I certainly like whisking you off your feet."

The field marshal raised an eyebrow from where he was struggling to stand. "Since when did I allow myself to become the wife?" He produced a chi barrier behind Kenren that stopped a large rock thrown by one of the golden-eyed children. The impact of the rock on the barrier threw the marshal back. Had Kenren's grip on him not been so strong, he would have gone crashing to the ground. But Kenren held fast and ended up staggering forward, falling to his knees.

"Tenpou! Shit!" Kenren cried out, temporarily releasing his grip on Tenpou's legs to support himself and prevent the two of them from teetering off the ravine that was the side of the road they were on. He glanced down at his weakened superior. "Are you okay?"

"Put me down and find Konzen," Tenpou reiterated his wishes, putting up the chi barrier again. It was much weaker than what Kenren was used to seeing from his friend. This caused the general more worry. "He's the only one who can control Goku. We don't stand a chance without him."

Stubborn as he was, Kenren still refused to leave Tenpou. "I'm not leaving you here to die." He picked himself and the field marshal up and began to run again. "I put up with a lot of shit to find you, I'm not losing you again."

The coldness in Tenpou's green eyes melted when it clashed with the fiery determination in Kenren's blue gaze. That brief moment of mutual distraction proved to be dangerous as a brown blur came crashing towards them from above.

"_**Damn it!"**_

Konzen found himself pinned to the ground by strong wiry arms. The golden stare that burned right through him was so familiar but so wrong in its deadness. "Damn it, you idiot, let me go!" he yelled as he struggled to free himself. It was one of the few times in his life that Konzen felt raw fear flow through his veins. Even if the blond did not outwardly show it, the triumphant smirk on his captor's lips said he smelled its powerful scent.

Just as the Seiten Taisen was about to take a hefty bite off of Konzen's ivory neck, he was tackled off by another Seiten Taisen. The deity, however, was only free for a second, as two new replicas quickly descended on him. He felt the sidearm Tenpou had given him for his own defense, but couldn't bring himself to pull it out to shoot Goku, or at least someone who looked and felt like Goku.

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

The quarreling taboo children paused from their activities as the two that were on top of Konzen fell lifelessly on top of him. The dispersed, temporarily disoriented by the loud noise and the quick defeat of two of their comrades. When Konzen found the presence of mind to push the bodies off him, he found a gun-wielding Tenpou riding a panting Kenren piggyback.

"You're getting sloppy, Tenpou," Kenren chided the marshal on his back. "You hit dirt with that second shot."

Tenpou slipped off his subordinate's back as he spoke, "I would have been spot on if you weren't moving so erratically, taisho."

"Hey," Kenren pulled out his own gun, getting ready for battle. "You were the one who wanted to go piggyback. Recoil would have been easier to manage if you hadn't insisted on switching."

They would have carried on arguing like an old married couple had Tenpou not caught sight of the mortified expression on Konzen's face. On stiff legs, the brown-haired man made his way towards his friend. "That's not Goku. His energy patterns and physical features may be the same, but they're not all Goku."

Konzen kept staring for a millisecond, processing what had happened. As he stared at the fallen teenaged boys at his feet, he pulled out his sidearm and pointed it at Tenpou. "Of course they're not. I'd personally shoot your head off if you'd killed that idiot."

"Awww..." Kenren wiped away an imaginary tear from his cheek. "The cold blond prick cares!" He barely had the time to move aside when a bullet came speeding towards him, just clipping his ear. "What the hell?! Tenpou, why'd you give him a gun?"

"A Smith and Wesson, to be exact," the marshal added, amusedly. "Konzen may not be as good at fighting as his human incarnation because their bodies are in different conditions, but I was hoping his aim would still be good."

"Still lousy, you mean," Kenren rubbed his singed ear tip. "He nearly shot my ear off."

"I would've if I wanted to, you womanizing bastard," Konzen retorted, dusting his robes.

"Nice to see you're feeling better," Kenren groused unhappily.

Tenpou looked up to the rock walls surrounding them. "And right on time, too," he commented as the three of them watched angry Seiten Taisen clones cautiously returning. "They're coming back."

"What're we going to do?" Konzen tensed his arm, ready to aim at any moment. "Goku could be among them."

"Why don't we just kill every one of them who isn't Goku?" Kenren asked, slightly confused.

"Idiot," Konzen grumbled.

Tenpou shook his head, "It's not that simple. I only know that only one of them could be Goku and that the real Seiten Taisen has scars from injuries he sustained from before, these copies of him don't." He squatted down and lifted the arm of one of the bodies he had shot earlier. "That's how I can identify Goku from the rest. It's not like we can ask them to stand still and show us their scars one by one."

"But you knew those two on top of Konzen weren't Goku," the general frowned, not able to connect things in his head. "If you could tell those two weren't Goku from that distance, can't you identify the real one from the others now?"

The marshal rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I wasn't sure that those attacking Konzen weren't Goku. I was just hoping that probability would work in our favor." He ducked when he saw Konzen shoot in his direction. "Maa maa, Konzen, it's not wise to waste your bullets at this time."

One of the many veins in Konzen's head twitched, dangerously. "I can't believe I chose to work with idiots," he grumbled as about twenty growling Itan children descended on them.


	12. Chapter Eleven

_Y'know, I really thought I'd have the chance to post this sooner. I kept changing details cause it was a bitch writing a fight scene. Now, show your appreciation for my hard work and review! XD j/k. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to all who keep reading this fic. _

Goku felt the fear and the anger, bubbling in his consciousness. He stirred in his space in his mind, but remained detached from all that was happening. He didn't want to awaken. It was cold. It was dark.

All he wanted was the sun.

_**Chapter Eleven**_

The raven-haired general of Heaven's Western army found himself being rammed against a rocky wall. "Fuck!" was all he could get out as the sudden jolt caused rocks from the apex to loosen and drop on him and the five golden-eyed teens who were attacking him.

All Kenren's shout got was a worried glance from a much-preoccupied Tenpou. Not surprisingly, Konzen didn't even give him so much. The other two deities were quite busy trying to defeat the many versions of Seiten Taisen. Aside from being incredibly powerful physically, the brown-haired creatures, though they outwardly acted like wild animals, were quite intelligent. After Tenpou and Kenren managed to fell three of them they understood that if they fought the three men separately, they would be defeated. So they attacked as a pack. They dispersed the three gods and were wearing them down.

Tenpou had already lost his gun. They understood the dangers that the gun presented and were quick to disarm the marshal who now had no means to defend himself other than with a fast weakening chi barrier. Konzen was with him, hiding behind the barrier, himself, quickly reloading the handgun. He had shot two rounds already, but only injured the creatures. In the flurry of battle, it was almost impossible to tell which one was the real Goku.

Konzen couldn't kill.

"Konzen..." Tenpou winced as his body began to feel the impact of the blows the Itan children were raining on his chi barrier.

Konzen was already burdened. Sweat poured from his brow from concentration. His limbs, not used to physical activity after centuries of being sedentary, were already burning from exertion. His chest felt like it was being rubbed raw by every breath and his fingers were already shaking. "What?" was all that he managed to throw back to his companion, not that he would have said much more, otherwise.

"You're his caretaker," Tenpou pointed out, his voice cracking under the strain. "Isn't there something that our Goku has that these other Goku don't?" At that moment, the chi barrier broke and Tenpou barely managed to shove Konzen aside as he was pinned by one Seiten Taisen.

Konzen lifted his gun, aiming for the lot that rushed towards him. _What if one of them is Goku? _ He froze. Shooting the real Goku was unthinkable. He couldn't do it. His shooting hand, trigger still entangled in its fingers, was pinned by one of the children. _How will I know that it isn't him? How can I bring him back to heaven?_

Tenpou lifted his arms above his face, protecting his head from the assault. He tensed the muscles of his left leg, which was still relatively free, not efficiently weighed down by an attacker. He planned on kicking whoever was closest to that leg off him and using the momentum of the kick to roll himself free and upright. It wasn't exactly a sound plan, seeing as it required a large amount of momentum and, hence, a large amount of strength—something he didn't have at his disposal at that moment—but it was all he had. As he braced himself for the kick, someone restrained his kicking foot, leaving him out of options.

"Incoming!" Kenren's voice reached Tenpou just as he was about to thought that his second life as a god was going to be a decidedly short one. A large boulder knocked two children off the marshal, effectively freeing one side of his body. With that much leeway, the bespectacled man managed to kick and elbow his way to escape.

When he was standing, Tenpou caught sight of Kenren standing just beside the pile of rocks that should have crushed him, earlier. He didn't want to admit it, but he was as greatly warmed by the sight of the living general as he had been horrified by the thought that the general could have died.

"Taisho," Tenpou smiled gratefully, more for the life of his general than his own. Again, he would never admit that out loud. In one sweep of the battlefield with his eyes, he located his gun a few feet away. One child was making a break for it.

Kenren saw this and picked up one of the rocks beside him and threw it at the boy that was heading for the gun. "Pick it up, Tenpou!" the general yelled and Tenpou hastened to obey.

"I thought I was the commanding officer," Tenpou joked as he retrieved the gun. He shot at an overhang hovering over Kenren's head so that a rock would fall on an Itan child that was crawling out of the rocks that had buried it, its companions and Kenren.

Kenren grinned while getting out of harm's way, "You are. And that's why you're the wife!"

"Your reasoning is truly flawed, taisho," Tenpou retorted as he turned to look for Konzen. He was making a mental tally of the Seiten Taisens. Five had been buried under the rocks with Kenren. He had been pinned down by four. One had been knocked unconscious by Kenren's rock. They had already killed five, including the ones that had been on top of Konzen. He had counted nineteen, so that left four able to attack Konzen. Tenpou frowned when he saw that his calculations had been correct.

One taboo child had Konzen's shooting hand pinned to the ground. Another had settled itself on top of Konzen's torso, pinning the man's body down. Two others were waiting for what Tenpou and Kenren would do next.

"Even if both on top of Konzen were not Goku," Tenpou mused as he aimed his gun. "I could still hit Konzen."

"And Mr. Goldilocks wouldn't appreciate that, now, would he?" Kenren commented as he ran to get the two "guards" out of the way.

Tenpou glanced behind him, checking if their other opponents were waking up or still out cold. He was more than disheartened to see that Seiten Taisen's resilience was also part of their genetic make up. The taboo children were on their way to full recovery.

Konzen was only vaguely aware of what was going on beyond the sea of gold and brown that hovered above him. A strong pressure was being applied to his throat, threatening to collapse his windpipe.

_Goku... _Konzen felt the world darken around him. He was somewhat called back by desperate shouts from a certain blue-eyed general.

"Konzen!" Kenren was shouting to him. "You stupid prick, Konzen, get yourself out of there and find the monkey already!"

Konzen began to struggle again. He still needed to find Goku. He couldn't die. _"...something that our Goku has that these other Goku don't..." _the blond remembered Tenpou's question.

Tenpou had been doing his best to keep the other Goku at bay, but he was barely succeeding. He had increased the size of the pile of rocks that kept five of the clones incapacitated, but when three of the four that were knocked out and scattered all over the place, awakened, there was little he could do. In a last ditch effort to save his companions, Tenpou had lured the children to one side of their fighting ground and had used his remaining chi to bind those three to him as he was shoved off.

A strangled cry caught Kenren's attention and panic seized him as he saw four bodies flung off the side of the mountain. The general couldn't even cry out. He didn't have the time as he had his own opponents and Konzen to attend to. As if matters weren't difficult enough, the five Tenpou had trapped under the rocks were all making their way out. They were bloodied and scratched, but they were undaunted and incensed. All in all, it was a crappy day for Kenren and he hoped that Tenpou was still god enough to survive the fall.


	13. Chapter Twelve

_Drum roll, please...._

_OMFG, is it an update?! Yes, it is! It hasn't been that long, has it?  
_

_(reads 'Last Updated: 11-24-07') _

_... Uhm... oops. My bad. Forgive me?_

_-_

"Beautiful, isn't he, Dr. Hwan?"

Dr. Hwan shuddered at the tone that the other scientist was using. She mustered up all of her courage and stepped away from the man whose sanity she had doubted for years. "I'm no longer a part of this, Ni Jen Yi," she declared as she inched away, slowly.

"Fine then," Dr. Ni shrugged, unconcerned at the loss of his assistant. He smirked as he stroked the brown head of the unconscious body in front of him. "But you're the one who's missing out on this beautiful creature."

_**Chapter Twelve**_

"_...Something that that stupid monkey has the these clones don't..."_

Konzen's vision was blurring. He was running out of air. His brain was slowly being deprived of much needed oxygen. His thought processes rambled and wandered. Slow suffocation was interfering with his reasoning.

"_...Can I ever be your sun? You said my hair looked warm... if you can see me, but can't recognize me, does that mean I'm no longer your sun? I was never your sun. I was always cold..."_

A spray of blond hair intruded Konzen's vision as his head was violently jerked by one of the Itan children.

"_...If I can no longer be your sun, what do you have that they don't?"_

He almost didn't want to struggle. The thought that he had been forgotten almost made him want to die. The unchanging Heaven that was waiting for him if he didn't bring back his ward, it would make sure that his melancholy would never dull nor fade. Konzen would rather die than spend his life angsting over one stupid monkey who would probably be unable to remember his own name if Konzen had given him a longer one.

"_...A name... Is that what you have?..."_

As a last resort, Konzen thrashed and struggled until his air passage was relatively free. He opened his mouth and cried out in a heartbreaking tone the only thing he felt he truly gave the child.

"_Ne, Konzen, give me a name!"_

"_**Goku!"**_

The familiar voice yet unfamiliar sound startled Kenren that he almost froze on the spot.

The general had been lost in thought as he couldn't stop replaying in his mind the sight of the outstretched pale hand that had been the only part of the marshal discernible in the tangle of limbs that fell off the side of the mountain. His anger and despair fueled his attacks and he rampaged against the taboo children attacking him.

And then, out of the blue, Konzen began shouting out desperately, like a child calling out to his mother. "Goku! Goku!"

"What the hell—?" Kenren froze when he heard the blond deity carrying on. "Dammit, Konzen, don't you dare lose your mind." He fought harder to reach the blond who looked almost hysterical.

"_**Goku!"**_

_Who's there? Who's calling my name? _

In the cold impenetrable darkness that was the Seiten Taisen's, no, Goku's mind, the voice that was shouting was distant and unrecognizable. He uncurled himself and his golden eyes tried to peer past the dark. There, he saw in a seemingly dreamy haze, a familiar landscape of rocks and sky. He saw himself rushing around him. He saw a man with long red hair fighting him. His limbs felt heavy and laden. He couldn't order his body to move. He just stood there, watching, as the man with red hair tried to swat aside the many Seiten Taisen that were attacking him. The man was fighting towards a goal. Goku sought out that goal, mystified, and found himself staring at a shock of golden hair.

Golden hair...

...gold, like the sun. _My sun..._

"_**Sanzo!"**_

One of the Itan children burst forth from the rocks, rushing blindly towards Konzen. The blond was still yelling out "Goku."

"Goku?" Kenren found reprieve as the other taboo boys saw that the one who turned against them was far more dangerous than the already worn out gods. He stood there, dumbfounded for a moment, unable to register what had happened. Then, a small smirk reached his lips. "Like a loyal dog called by its master," he chuckled. He finally found the chance to reload his gun and began shooting at the ones whom he already knew weren't Goku.

Without considerations, it was easy to finish the battle. After all, the imitation Goku were, really, not as battle-hardy as the real one. Once they saw that Kenren was no longer hesitant in his attacks, they saw that they were doomed and they panicked.

Konzen stared up at the Itan child, his Itan child, hovering over him with an agonized gaze. "Goku, it's you..." he murmured as he raised his hand and placed it on the exhausted boy's forehead. As Konzen's scrutinizing eyes passed over the boy in front of him, he noticed the many scars that decorated the child's arms and what part of the boy's chest peeked through his torn shirt. The violet fire softened, "...it's over now. I'm taking you home..." A bright light burst forth from Konzen's hand as he began to create the diadem.

"...Goku."

A bright light broke through the cold darkness and Goku reached out towards it. He stretched out his arms and tried to touch the sun.

Goku, back to his old self, fell asleep, basking in the warmth of the sun's glow.

Kenren blinked. He thought it'd be much more difficult than that.

"_**Well, that's over."**_

"Yes, it is, such a pity," Ni Jen Yi turned off the screen in his lab. "The moment you cut off the leash that binds your dog to you, you can never be sure if it's still going to do its job." Whether he was talking about Dr. Hwan or Seiten Taisen, it wasn't clear. He chuckled as he looked around his laboratory. It was messy and many parts of it suffered damage from Seiten Taisen's rampage, but damages were minor and it was fully operational. "The cycle is complete. Creation, life, and destruction," he mused as he looked over the three bodies of Itan children that he had killed, himself. "Now, it's time to create anew."

The doctor turned towards his new plaything. Bound to what looked like an operating table was an unconscious Tenpou. "Perhaps, it is time we learned what makes us gods different from humans."

Out of the shadows of the partially destroyed lab, stepped out a white-haired man. The old man, despite his age, still walked with a stately gait and a frightening grin. He held a stuffed rabbit out to Ni. "You are not being prudent about this, Dr. Ni," the man warned. "As long as you have this man here, that man up there will not stop looking. You no longer have dogs to guard your house."

"Master," Ni took the pale pink rabbit and bowed to the man. "That man won't find me, here. Only you and Dr. Hwan know about this lab. And Dr. Hwan is a bit indisposed at the moment." In his mind, he had a mental picture of Dr. Hwan buried under a mudslide he had induced. He laughed evilly and the older gentleman just looked on with a mysterious smile.

-

_**Author's Note:** Yup, it's short and it ends with another cliffie. Now, I must run and hide before readers kill me. Maybe, I shouldn't hide so well, or else it might take me another year to update. XD _


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